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UNIVERSITY  EXTENSION  LECTURES 


SYLLABUS 

Of  A 

COURSE  OF  SIX  LECTURES 


PARIS 

1.  Origins  of  Paris 

2.  The  Paris  of  St.  Louis 

3.  The  Paris  of  the  English  Wars 

4.  The  Paris  of  the  XVII  Century 

5.  The  Paris  of  the  Revolution 

6.  The  Siege,  the  Commune,  and  Modern  Paris 


HILAIRE  BELLOC 

Late  Scholar  of  Baliol  College,  Oxford 
Staff  Lecturer  to  the  American  Society 


Series  O.  No.  8 Price,  10  cent* 


Copyright,  1897,  by 

The  American  Society  for  the  Extension  of  Unirersity  Teachinf 
111  South  Fifteenth  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa, 


BOOKS. 


Kitchin’s  “History  of  France.”  Vols.  I.andlL  Especially  pages  (I) 
31-55,  328,  451-484,  523-557.  Pages  (II)  290-451.  (The  pages 
refer  to  the  third  edition.) 

Mes.  Gaedinee’s  “Small  History  of  the  French  Revolution.”  Espe- 
cially for  small  clear  map  of  Revolutionary  Paris  and  leading  facts 
of  the  Revolution. 


1 


^ V S 


C 


LECTURE  I. 

The  Origins  of  Paris. 

The  geographical  position  of  Paris — ill-suited  for  the 
capital  of  a highly  centralized  modern  state,  (a)  no  port 
near  it;  (6)  nor  the  head  of  an  estuary  (like  Rouen  and 
London);  (c)  nor  central  (like  Rome,  Berlin,  Moscow, 
Madrid);  (d)  nor  natural  centre  of  commerce  (like  Lyons, 
Constantinople) ; (e)  nor  great  military  position  (like  Jeru- 
salem). Romans  make  little  of  it;  not  on  their  great  main 
road;  the  Christian  Conversion;  St.  Dionysius;  Paris  be- 
comes prominent  in  the  end  of  the  fourth  century;  Julian’s 
Palace;  never,  however,  a true  capital  of  Gaul;  how  did  it 
become  so  ? 

(a)  Because  with  the  Barbarian  invasions  the  frontiers 
of  Latin  Gaul  move  westward,  and  with  the  large 
admixture  of  German  blood,  the  north  becomes  a 
separate  unit;  hence  we  may  look  for  a new 
‘ ‘ centre  of  gravity  ’ ’ for  what  is  to  be  France. 

(b)  Because  in  the  break-up  of  the  Empire  into  Feudal- 
ism  (800-1000),  the  family  which  possesses  Paris 
happens  to  be  given  the  nominal  title  of  ‘ ‘ King.  ’ ’ 

Why  this  accident  was  so  important;  character  of  Feudal- 
ism after  the  Empire  of  Charlemagne;  why  each  nation 
chose  a nominal  king;  tradition  of  authority;  The  Royal 
power  was  a shadow,  but  the  shadow  was  sacred.  ’ ’ The 
Robertian  House;  the  Korman  siege  of  Paris;  the  Duke  of 
France;  Otto’s  siege;  finally  Hugh  Capet  is  made  King 
(987);  limits  of  the  City  at  that  period. 


(3) 


4 


LECTtJRE  II. 

The  Paris  of  St.  Louis. 

What  all  Europe  went  through  with  the  Crusades;  de- 
velopment of  civilization;  especially  (1)  Gothic  architecture; 
(2)  Town  life;  (3)  Universities;  therefore  Thirteenth  Cen- 
tury Paris  a good  halting-place  in  the  history  of  the  town; 
limits  of  town  at  that  epoch;  old  Lutetia  plus  a northern 
bastion;  many  suburbs,  but  not  included  in  the  walls. 

(а)  The  island  of  the  Cite  already  sacred  ground;  the 
Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame;  the  Sainte  Chapelle; 
the  bridges. 

(б)  The  Northern  bastion;  the  Louvre;  a donjon  and 
towers  already  built  by  Philip  the  Conqueror;  be- 
ginnings of  the  city  hall;  Place  de  greve. 

(c)  University  suburb;  position  of  Paris  University; 
only  university  close  to  a capital;  importance  of, 
this  in  French  history ; ‘ ‘ The  university  completes ' 
the  microcosm  of  Paris.  ’ ’ 

Paris  is  now  a complete  and  typical  Mediaeval  city;  it 
will  continue  to  be  the  typical  city  of  its  period  in 
all  its  future  stages. 


LECTURE  III. 

Paris  of  the  English  Wars. 

Slow  development  of  towns  in  the  fourteenth  century; 
Black  Death;  not  a time  of  great  economic  development; 
the  limits  of  Paris  in  middle  fourteenth  century;  dis- 
asters under  first  part  of  hundred  years’  war;  Etienne 
Marcel  and  the  States  General;  Siege  of  Paris;  the  factions 
surrounding  crown;  power  of  middle  class  everywhere, 
especially  in  towns;  their  distrust  of  the  (a)  Southerner, 
(6)  the  Feudal  Noble  (this  reappears  all  through  French 
History;  Paris  as  the  head  of  France  consistently  fights 


5 


the  privileges  and  disruption) ; therefore  they  side  with  the 
Burgundians;  through  the  help  of  Burgundy  the  English 
nobles  who  had  become  kings  attack  France;  Henry  V. 
occupies  Paris;  his  scheme;  the  reaction  in  Paris  against 
the  English  rule;  effect  of  the  victories  of  Joan  of  Arc  upon 
the  capital;  the  attack  upon  the  City  by  the  new  French 
King;  Joan  of  Arc  is  wounded  outside  St.  Denis;  Eng- 
lish power  wanes  and  Eichemont  enters  Paris  in  triumph 
in  1436. 

Changes  in  the  City  during  hundred  years’  war;  with  the 
success  of  the  nation  royal  power  and  its  appurtenances 
grow  greater;  the  Chatelet;  the  Louvre;  Montfaucon;  Vil- 
lars’  picture  of  the  Paris  of  his  time  (just  after  the  wars). 


LECTURE  IV. 

Paris  of  the  Seventeenth  Century. 

The  religious  wars  represent  to  the  people  of  Paris  (a) 
Feudalism,  (6)  disruption;  their  past  attitude  during  the 
St.  Bartholomew;  their  attitude  forces  Henri  IV.  to  change 
his  religion;  he  begins  the  great  development;  the  new 
Louvre;  the  Pont-Keuf;  the  expansion  of  Paris. 

After  his  death  till  1659  a period  of  small  development; 
after  that  comes  the  definite  break-down  of  local  nobility, 
the  recognition  of  Paris  as  a centre  and  the  massing  of  all 
national  forces  in  the  Capital;  the  city  becomes  the  centre 
of  Europe;  examples  in  the  Drama,  in  Oratory,  in  Foreign 
policy. 

The  city  of  the  grand  Siecle,”  new  architecture,  new 
education,  new  police,  new  theatre,  new  centralization; 
this  Paris  still  dominates  the  modern  town  (many  of  its 
streets  are  all  but  unchanged;  none  of  the  Mediseval  streets 
remain);  the  limits  of  the  city  under  Louis  XIV.;  the 
great  gates;  shortly  after  the  King  leaves  Paris  for  Ver- 
sailles. 


6 


LECTUBE  V. 

The  Paris  of  the  Revolution. 

Scope  of  the  lecture;  impossibility  of  including  more 
than  the  main  facts  of  the  political  movement;  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  City,  Paris  of  the  Revolution  concerns 
us  as  being  the  material  out  of  which  Modern  Paris  was 
made. 

Peculiar  conditions  of  the  Capital;  abandoned  for  more 
than  a century  by  the  King  and  court;  its  great  size;  extra- 
ordinary survivals  or  rather  dead  relics  of  past  institutions; 
the  Gilds;  the  ‘ ‘ Merchant  Corporation ’ the  Bastille;  the 
anomalous  and  anarchic  administration;  the  Louvre;  the 
additions  of  the  eighteenth  century;  lack  of  great  arteries 
in  the  town;  but  it  is  the  intellectual  centre  of  France; 
Paris  becomes  industrial.  Paris  begins  the  Revolution  with 
the  taking  of  the  Bastille  (July,  1789);  the  King  brought 
back  to  Paris;  the  Revolutionary  parliaments  in  Paris; 
prisons  where  the  Royal  family  were  confined;  the  Place 
de  la  Revolution;  ” its  importance;  execution  of  the  King- 
takes  place  there,  and  many  of  those  of  the  Reign  of  Terror; 
that  of  Robespierre;  the  Champ  de  Mars  then  outside  the 
City;  its  importance  in  the  Revolution;  the  lamp,  the  altar 
of  the  Country  and  the  Federation. 

The  Revolution  leaves  Paris  the  absolute  mistress  of 
France;  all  is  centralized  there,  and  the  town  itself  has 
received  a powerful  and  simple  form  of  government. 


7 


LECTURE  VI. 

The  Siege,  the  Commune,  and  Modern  Paris. 

Paris  develops  upon  purely  Revolutionary  ideas;  that  is, 
it  is  (1)  centralized;  (2)  the  head  of  France  by  right  of 
intellect;  (3)  the  point  in  which  the  whole  of  French  social 
energy  concentrates;  how  far  is  this  at  the  expense  of  the 
provincial  towns;  it  was  the  modern  town  when  besieged 
in  1870. 

The  map  of  the  siege;  the  impossibility  of  long  resist- 
ance; lack  of  a garrison ; nature  of  the  siege;  the  capitula- 
tion of  the  City;  what  made  the  Commune?  its  history. 

Paris  in  the  last  twenty-six  years;  (a)  what  it  has  rebuilt 
(notably  the  Hotel  de  Ville) ; (6)  what  it  has  reorganized 
within  its  own  boundaries;  the  police  and  public  order;  the 
city  government;  (c)  how  it  has  affected  France;  it  has 
(1)  caught  what  is  best  in  the  provinces  and  therefore  (2) 
tended  to  decentralize;  but  not  even  the  Commune  has 
made  it  to  be  the  hegemony  of  France;  the  change  of  the 
centre  of  gravity  in  military  affairs. 


